Clarissa lowered her gaze at Matthew.
At that very moment, she asked God if He could turn back time for her.
Five seconds later, just when she wanted to get off and pretend nothing ever happened, Matthew held her slender waist in place.
She blushed so hard that she looked just like a lobster.
Intrigued, the man raised his eyebrows with a smile.
“Clare…”
“Hehe… I’m sleepwalking! Sleepwalking!”
Closing her eyes, she played dumb and began to mumble to herself.
Matthew chuckled in response as he played along with her sleepwalking claim.
“Fine. Sleepwalking it is. It appears you must be planning to do something to me in your dream. Clare, why don’t you just tell me what is it that you wanted to do?”
At that, her lips visibly twitched.
Matthew was already caressing her with his hand. Reaching underneath her pajamas, he leaned close to her ear and let out a warm breath on purpose.
“Clare, since you’re sleepwalking, you won’t remember what happened. Why don’t we try the position we talked about last time? If you don’t say anything, I’ll take your silence as consent.”
In the beginning, Clarissa continued her act by refusing to talk. However, when Matthew started moving into position, she finally wavered.
“Matthew, what are you doing?”
She opened her eyes slowly, acting as if she had just awoken. Pretending as if nothing had happened, she shot him a curious look.
When he saw how well she acted, Matthew felt that she deserved an award.
However, he still couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Hahaha…”
His laughter grew increasingly loud as he found Clarissa’s attempt at playing dumb hilarious.
As for Clarissa, she was so embarrassed that she hoped the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
At the same time, she felt equally peeved. Clenching her fists, she began to pound on his chest. However, it was a futile effort; the man couldn’t stop laughing. Finally, she had to use her ultimate weapon. After pinching him forcefully, Matthew finally stopped laughing due to the pain.
However, he maintained a grin on his face and looked as if he was on the brink of laughing again.
Clarissa glared at him so hard that her eyes grew red. She was afraid she would burst out in tears if he continued laughing.
When Matthew saw the look on her face, he finally stopped and hugged her. Laying her back on the bed, he patted her back and apologized softly.
“Clare, don’t be angry. You were sleepwalking just now and weren’t aware of what you have done, right? Besides, I wasn’t doing anything either.”
What a preposterous lie!
Clarissa opened her jaws and forcefully bit into his arm, venting her frustration and embarrassment.
Enduring the pain, the man just smiled. Finally, she realized his arm was bleeding when she tasted blood in her mouth.
Just as she began to feel bad, she saw the smile on Matthew’s face. She let out a quick snort before looking away, acting as if she didn’t care.
“You deserved it!”
No matter what, it’s entirely his fault.
Matthew had no choice but to accept it.
Smiling, he licked his bleeding wrist. The teeth marks are really deep.
“Clare, are you no longer angry?”
Clarissa turned away with her back facing him.
Matthew chuckled as he hugged her from behind. Caressing her hips, he whispered into her ear on purpose to allow his warm breath to seduce her.
“Clare, I want you.”
Actually, that was what she had intended.
If only he had said it a few minutes earlier, Clarissa would have given in to him.
But, it was now too late.
She snapped, “Go away!”
However, Matthew wasn’t giving up so easily. After licking her ear, he gently bit her ear lobe. As he continued to tease her, he pressed his body against hers, demonstrating his lust for her.
She cringed and tried to escape from his grip. However, she was quickly pulled back into his arms. When she tried fleeing again, there was so where else for her to go.
Despite having a big bed, the space within Matthew’s embrace was a lot narrower.
No matter how much she struggled, the result was still the same.
Pressed underneath Matthew, she was pleasured in many different ways.
However, there was no way she was going to admit how much she enjoyed it.
After an intense and passionate session, Clarissa was panting like a fish gasping for air on land. While she was breathing heavily, Matthew wanted to continue kissing her. However, she shoved him away instead.
Turning around, she picked up her pajamas from the floor and went into the bathroom.
She did so with such indifference that it made Matthew look pitiful despite having done all the work.
However, he quickly followed her into the bathroom. After another session inside, both of them lay in the bathtub. Having expended all her energy, she snuggled up to him in a daze.
After a brief silence, the man casually asked, “Clarissa, have you ever thought about how things would be if you weren’t raised by the Quigley family?”
At that, Clarissa replied languidly, “What do you mean?”
Matthew hesitated for a while before dismissing the entire topic.
“Nothing. I was just curious.”
After kissing her on her head, he got up and carried her out. Placing her on a chair, he dried her with a towel before carrying her back to bed.
Both of them then fell asleep in each other’s arms.
The next day.
After dropping Damian off at school, Clarissa headed to her studio.
There, she held a meeting to announce the new investment the studio had secured. Furthermore, a celebration was organized to introduce the new investor to the staff and to motivate the staff to work harder. After the year-end holidays, she expected work to be busier as they were going to rapidly expand the business.
Once she was done with her work, she went to Matthew’s office discreetly.
She wasn’t there to surprise him. In fact, she had on a serious expression when she sat in front of his desk.
She got straight to the point.
“Last night, I seemed to have vaguely heard you mention something. Can you repeat your question again?”
Matthew wasn’t expecting it at all.
Falling silent, he stared intently at her.
“Don’t give me that look, alright? I still remember. It feels like you knew something when you asked me that question. There’s no need to hide anything from me. By now, you should already know that I have a good imagination. I can more or less guess what it is, but it’s better if you can give me a definite answer.”
After letting out a sigh, Matthew took out a recording pen from his drawer.
Playing it back, Clarissa could hear Jake’s drunken voice.
“Haha! That old woman fell in love with a rich husband, and because she failed to seduce him, she bribed my wife to switched their babies. Not only did she raise her love rival’s daughter in poor conditions, but she also abandoned the girl when she married into a rich family later. In the end, she got her own daughter to live lavishly in a rich family. My friend, I saw for myself how vicious this woman is. Haha! But, that’s also how we get paid. After all, she and her daughter are now our benefactors. However, do you know her daughter is now in prison? Karma sure is a b*tch, isn’t she? Despite being raised by such a rich family, she still ended up in prison. However, she’s still rich enough to keep paying us endlessly. Obviously, she still wants to continue living lavishly when she is released from prison….”
Although no names were mentioned, Clarissa clearly knew who he was talking about.
After the recording ended, she fell silent as her eyes stared blankly into the air. Looking lost, she didn’t know what to make of it.
When he saw her reaction, Matthew walked over and pulled her into his embrace to comfort her.
“Clare, don’t be sad. No matter what, you still have me. It’s alright. Everything will be fine.”
He was worried that she would be devastated. After all, he couldn’t believe how ridiculous the whole matter was.
How is this even possible?
However, Hilary’s capability of abandoning her daughter and casting aside her own daughter’s love for her didn’t surprise Clarissa.
She could do it because I’m not her real daughter. After all, there’s no mother in this world who doesn’t love their own children.
Suddenly, Clarissa burst into laughter, causing Matthew to be shocked.
“Haha! I still guessed wrong. I thought I was the illegitimate child between her and James. I thought the reason she hated me was because she hadn’t been able to win James’ affection. I didn’t expect to be wrong. No, wait, I got half of it right. I am James’ daughter, but I’m not Hilary’s. Isn’t it funny that she resorted to switching babies? Matthew, don’t you think it’s hilarious?”
Looking up, Clarissa smirked at how absurd the entire situation was.
Beyond that, she found it laughable too.
Stroking her cheeks, Matthew replied softly, “Therefore, it’s not that she doesn’t love you. She’s not even your mother. Hence, there’s no need for you to feel sad over her. All in all, she’s nothing but a stranger.”
“I have long stopped moping about it. I just feel that it’s a farce, that’s all.”
With that, everything was now clear.
Every mother loves their child. Even a selfish one like Hilary was willing to go to great lengths for the sake of her own daughter.
At the end of the day, the reason is simple. I’m not her biological daughter.
Clarissa laughed quietly to herself as she shook her head. After doing so for a while longer, tears began to fall, and she buried her face in Matthew’s embrace.
Feeling heartbroken to see her that way, the man kissed her sympathetically on her forehead.
